Oct 7, 2025 - (I've reuploaded this file to capture some corrections.)
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and her brother Aron make their way down out of the frozen heights of the Veiled Mountains into another mountainous region, much lower in elevation, known as the Tempest Hills. Still considered the highlands, these high golden alpine meadows are alive with bees and butterflies and birds and are framed with tall thick pines. The landscape seems rich with verdant life when compared against the sterile cold of her home region, the Veiled Mountains. Against this picturesque backdrop, they find the settlement of Redcrag.
Upon entering Redcrag, they see a black wolfshead and a black fang on a field of red--the banner of the Wolf Fang Clan--fluttering in the stiff breeze, and they see a dozen warriors laughing and drinking inside the local inn.
Needing rest and resupply, they decide to skip the inn and try their luck with a local. On the outskirts of the settlement, perhaps a half hour walk away to the south east, they secure lodging at the home of a red-bearded trapper and hunter, known as Seith. After bathing and resting and helping Seith with chores around the house for several days, their strength slowly begins to revive, and in many ways they are largely able to put the darkness of their path through the Veiled Mountains and its grim undercroft behind them.
They talk with Seith of the Elven city and learn that the locals call it "Grimstone" and that many believe it is haunted. Eilwen swears upon her still-glowing iron sword to eventually deal with the husk, Edris who has taken up residence there.
Seith reveals that he is no lover of Wolf Fang clan. They also learn some of the settlements and strongholds that Uzak's warbands have conquered, Redcrag being one of them. They further learn that a local Wolf Fang clan sympathizer, a cruel sniveling man and native to Redcrag who goes by the name of Mattox is in a position of leadership among the fifty or so Wolf Fang clan warriors who have taken up residence in Redcrag. He spends his time ratting on the folk of Redcrag. Mattox has in fact turned in Seith's own daughter, Kari, to the Wolf Fang clan, not to mention Mattox's own grandmother. Seith agrees to help Eilwen against Uzak if she can make Mattox pay for his crimes. Later that night, Eilwen and Aron talk of her plans and she convinces Aron to help her on some of the more immediate convincing him that they dovetail with her vow to become the Queen of the Ironlands. And one of these is finding more information about Uzak and his movements.
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Attributions:
- 'The Long Dark' and 'Emergent' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au) - released under CC-BY 4.0.
- Various tracks by Tabletop Audio ( https://tabletopaudio.com) - released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Minor modifications (fading/splitting) made to support this podcast format with written permission from the creator.
- Sound Effects from Pixabay (Pixabay.com).
